Chris Patton

TAVARES -- The Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded Lake County a $200,000 matching state grant to help turn a 260-acre reserve into a regional park. The Palatlakaha Environmental and Agriculture Reserve, also known as PEAR Park, has a dog park and is home to the Dr. S.J. Stephany Memorial River Trail. It is located at the end of University Avenue, south of Leesburg on U.S. Highway 27. This month, state Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, and state Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, announced the county had received the grant from DEP's Land and Water Conservation Fund program.

MINNEOLA - About 200 freshmen and new students at Lake Minneola High School will start the school year Monday with no iPads after administrators said increasing enrollment numbers weren't what they expected. The iPads, with their multiple and targeted learning applications, are an essential tool for students, who must hit the ground running as soon as the school year starts. The pilot iPad program was started in 2011 when Lake Minneola High School opened its doors. It replaced textbooks and is a "foundational component" of the school's curriculum, according to the district.

TAVARES -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency will close its Disaster Recovery Center in Lake County on Saturday unless there is more interest from the public, officials said. The center, at 4113 County Road 561 in the Southridge Shoppes commercial center, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and offers hurricane victims a chance to meet with FEMA workers and other storm-related assistance agencies and volunteers. The number of residents using the center has dropped dramatically in the last two weeks, said Chris Patton, spokesman for the County Commission.

Lake County more than doubled the number of A grades for elementary and middle schools on the state's annual report card, but the district also recorded five F's compared to none last year. District spokesman Chris Patton said the drop in grades at some schools was partially due to students having to split their focus on the FCAT and the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that will take effect next school year. "This year was transitioning from old standards to the new standards," Patton said.

MINNEOLA - A Lake Minneola High School student suffered minor injuries this week after being struck by a vehicle while riding his bike to school. The 10th-grader was struck before 7:30 a.m., Wednesday by a student driver at Fosgate and Turkey Farm roads near the school's parking lot, district spokesman Chris Patton said. The student was eligible for busing, but it's not clear why he was riding his bike to school, Patton said. He said the student had only scrapes and bruises. Parents for weeks have warned about the dangerous routes students face after bus service was dropped for 4,300 children living within two miles of campus.

About 500 students were absent Friday from Mount Dora Middle School and Mount Dora High because of a threatening note discovered two weeks ago. Lake County deputy sheriffs believe the note, which was found stuffed in a class textbook March 30, was written by a 13-year-old Mount Dora Middle School girl who threatened to "shoot up school" on Friday. The girl also threatened to bring guns to school and "run. " Last week, district spokesman Chris Patton said the girl had since withdrawn from the district, and parents were notified that the campus was safe.

Some people have a bad hair day. Mabry Anderson has been having a bad hair week. Mabry, a 16-year-old Tavares High School student, was told Tuesday that her fire-engine red hair violated the district's policy forbidding "unnatural" hair color. She was given a referral stating that she could not return to campus until she had changed her hair. She stayed home two days, but she returned Friday to keep from getting unexcused absences, said her mother, Cate Rettig, 50, of Tavares.

BETSY KING, a five-time winner this season, rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole Saturday to take a 1-shot lead after the third round of the LPGA World Championship in Buford, Ga. King shot 2-under par 70 for a 54-hole score of 207, nine shots under par on the hilly, 6,107-yard PineIsle Resort course.CHARLES SETS PACEBOB CHARLES shot 3-under-par 69, remaining on track for a bit of personal history in the Charley Pride Senior Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. Charles, with a 36-hole total of 9-under 135, held a one-shot lead over Charles Coody and Jim Dent going into today's final round.

Lake County more than doubled the number of A grades for elementary and middle schools on the state's annual report card, but the district also recorded five F's compared to none last year. District spokesman Chris Patton said the drop in grades at some schools was partially due to students having to split their focus on the FCAT and the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that will take effect next school year. "This year was transitioning from old standards to the new standards," Patton said.

A Sorrento Elementary School teacher is facing criminal charges after being accused of twice ramming into a Lake County deputy's vehicle while under the influence of a drug and fleeing a traffic stop on her way to school. Lake County deputies arrested Monica Leigh Jenkins, 44, on Monday morning. They say she struck a patrol vehicle as the deputy was trying to stop her from swerving into oncoming traffic about 8 a.m. on State Road 44 in the Pine Lakes area. According to an arrest report a deputy spotted Jenkins in a black sport-utility vehicle headed east in the westbound lane of State Road 44 near Scrub Oak Lane.

TAVARES - School Board members recently approved changes to the district's staffing plan that will add, among other things, a new position to oversee class-size compliance. The staffing changes, including the class-size officer, will cost the district about $245,000, said Chris Patton, the district's spokesman. However, Patton said this amount does not include any staffing changes due to the Engage LCS project, which is mostly funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, because those went through a "different process.

A Sorrento Elementary School teacher is facing criminal charges after being accused of twice ramming into a Lake County deputy's vehicle while under the influence of a drug and fleeing a traffic stop on her way to school. Lake County deputies arrested Monica Leigh Jenkins, 44, on Monday morning. They say she struck a patrol vehicle as the deputy was trying to stop her from swerving into oncoming traffic about 8 a.m. on State Road 44 in the Pine Lakes area. According to an arrest report a deputy spotted Jenkins in a black sport-utility vehicle headed east in the westbound lane of State Road 44 near Scrub Oak Lane.

MINNEOLA - A Lake Minneola High School student suffered minor injuries this week after being struck by a vehicle while riding his bike to school. The 10th-grader was struck before 7:30 a.m., Wednesday by a student driver at Fosgate and Turkey Farm roads near the school's parking lot, district spokesman Chris Patton said. The student was eligible for busing, but it's not clear why he was riding his bike to school, Patton said. He said the student had only scrapes and bruises. Parents for weeks have warned about the dangerous routes students face after bus service was dropped for 4,300 children living within two miles of campus.

Some people have a bad hair day. Mabry Anderson has been having a bad hair week. Mabry, a 16-year-old Tavares High School student, was told Tuesday that her fire-engine red hair violated the district's policy forbidding "unnatural" hair color. She was given a referral stating that she could not return to campus until she had changed her hair. She stayed home two days, but she returned Friday to keep from getting unexcused absences, said her mother, Cate Rettig, 50, of Tavares.

About 500 students were absent Friday from Mount Dora Middle School and Mount Dora High because of a threatening note discovered two weeks ago. Lake County deputy sheriffs believe the note, which was found stuffed in a class textbook March 30, was written by a 13-year-old Mount Dora Middle School girl who threatened to "shoot up school" on Friday. The girl also threatened to bring guns to school and "run. " Last week, district spokesman Chris Patton said the girl had since withdrawn from the district, and parents were notified that the campus was safe.

TAVARES -- The Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded Lake County a $200,000 matching state grant to help turn a 260-acre reserve into a regional park. The Palatlakaha Environmental and Agriculture Reserve, also known as PEAR Park, has a dog park and is home to the Dr. S.J. Stephany Memorial River Trail. It is located at the end of University Avenue, south of Leesburg on U.S. Highway 27. This month, state Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, and state Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, announced the county had received the grant from DEP's Land and Water Conservation Fund program.

TAVARES - School Board members recently approved changes to the district's staffing plan that will add, among other things, a new position to oversee class-size compliance. The staffing changes, including the class-size officer, will cost the district about $245,000, said Chris Patton, the district's spokesman. However, Patton said this amount does not include any staffing changes due to the Engage LCS project, which is mostly funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, because those went through a "different process.

Loren Roberts bogeyed the second playoff hole but still won The Tradition at Aloha, Ore., on Sunday, beating Dana Quigley, who double-bogeyed the par-4 and failed again to win his first major. Quigley's 3 1/2-foot putt for bogey on No. 17 lipped out, while Roberts' fell. "It's just not my turn yet," Quigley said. Roberts, who turned 50 this year, was playing in just his third event on the Champions Tour. Both players had trouble with their second shots on the second playoff hole. Roberts' rolled far past the hole and into the signature bunker in the middle of the green.

Loren Roberts bogeyed the second playoff hole but still won The Tradition at Aloha, Ore., on Sunday, beating Dana Quigley, who double-bogeyed the par-4 and failed again to win his first major. Quigley's 3 1/2-foot putt for bogey on No. 17 lipped out, while Roberts' fell. "It's just not my turn yet," Quigley said. Roberts, who turned 50 this year, was playing in just his third event on the Champions Tour. Both players had trouble with their second shots on the second playoff hole. Roberts' rolled far past the hole and into the signature bunker in the middle of the green.

TAVARES -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency will close its Disaster Recovery Center in Lake County on Saturday unless there is more interest from the public, officials said. The center, at 4113 County Road 561 in the Southridge Shoppes commercial center, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and offers hurricane victims a chance to meet with FEMA workers and other storm-related assistance agencies and volunteers. The number of residents using the center has dropped dramatically in the last two weeks, said Chris Patton, spokesman for the County Commission.